Shavua Tov! I had a very relaxing Shabbat in Yerushalayim. It was great to see family and friends whom we rarely get to see.
It's a new week, and in the past, Sunday night supper has snuck up on me and often caught me off guard. Now, I have a plan! (This meal planning thing is great! I am stretching my shekels so much further, and feeling much less stressed out!)
Here's the menu, using only things that I have on hand (not sure if I will make it to the store or not early in the day - I haven't planned my grocery run, yet!):
Green Bean Soup
Broccoli or Spinach "Puff"
Couscous
Chick Pea & Tomato Salad
Some notes about these dishes:
Green Bean Soup works very well either with EXTREMELY fresh green beans (garden or farm stand), or frozen ones (these are usually harvested and frozen the same day, so they are very fresh). It does not work well with supermarket "fresh" green beans. Here's what I do: Sautee onion and garlic in olive oil till translucent. Add green beans to the pot, stirring and heating till they are bright green. Add water or soup stock. Heat through, puree, add milk or rice milk to make it "creamy", and season with salt and pepper.
Broccoli or Spinach Puff: (Yes, these are slightly less frugal than the other menu items, but we all have to add some variety and remember to not be so thrifty as to never make our kids' favorite foods. My 3 yr old loves anything with spinach and my 12 yr old loves anything with broccoli. I know, go figure...) Mix the following ingredients together and bake in a deep casserole dish at 375 F for 1 hour: 16 oz. cottage cheese, 2 eggs, 4 oz. shredded cheese of your choice, 2 T. flour, 2 c. chopped broccoli or chopped spinach, salt and pepper to taste.
Chick Pea & Tomato Salad - don't forget to soak the chick peas overnight, and cook them early in the day (or use canned - but that costs a lot more per unit, and then you also have to deal with the question of BPA in cans. I prefer to soak and cook them myself.), as these chick peas should be completely cooled before combining with tomatoes and green onions for this salad...
As usual, let me know what you think!
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My husband found your blog and knew I'd love it -- I really enjoy cooking and am very price-conscious, so this is right up my alley.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering about some of your ingredients, though. Do you live in an area that sells frozen spinach and broccoli at lower-than-normal prices? I never buy either (though I love both) and have also avoided buying fresh mushrooms (15 nis for one pack!), nuts, and craisins. I also buy cheese and ice cream in moderation and try to make them last (especially hard with the ice cream).
I have yet to see a frozen spinach sale, but please let me know if you ever find one...
Thanks for all of the work I'm sure goes into your blogging.
I will definitely let you know if I find spinach on sale!
ReplyDeleteIt is an indulgence of ours. I buy it once in a while despite the elevated price, because I feel that it is important to eat foods we like and important to have variety. Frozen spinach will only show up once in a while in my menus, and when I use it, it's rare that I use a whole bag of it at a time. Also, because we don't buy red meat ever, and only eat chicken on Shabbat, I find that I can justify the expense of a bag of spinach every so often. Same for nuts. I buy about 20 NIS worth of nuts every week. It's a good addition to a plant based diet, and, in my opinion, well worth it. It also helps my easily distracted son concentrate better. The theory is it has trace minerals that help balance brain chemistry...
As far as broccoli goes, I buy fresh and take lots of time to soak and check it. Fresh mushrooms are about 6-8 NIS a pack around here at Yesh or Kimat Chinam, though I also buy the frozen ones (big timesaver, and I stocked up when Mega had them on sale!)
Thanks for reading my blog! I hope you like it!